


the kid

by caraminha



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Precious Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Sleep Deprivation, TONY STARK IS A NICE MAN, Tired Peter, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Vomiting, What is this?, caring Tony, father/son mirroring, one of those conveniently long car rides where all the emotional reflection goes down, peter parker is a cute dork, soft, wont they hug already :/, you know the ones im talking about, you tell me - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-08
Updated: 2018-01-12
Packaged: 2019-03-02 11:33:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13317207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caraminha/pseuds/caraminha
Summary: Even Spiderlings need sleep. Tony seems to realise this before Peter ever will.





	1. Chapter 1

“Mr Stark! Am I glad to see you! I’ve been here for hours and this rope is really starting to chafe and I have to pee _so_ bad, I – hey, careful!”

Tony scoffed, thankful his affectionate smirk was safely hidden behind the mask of his suit. He resumed lasering the thick rope that was wrapped especially tight around Peter’s limbs. “Then keep still, kid. And stop calling me Mr Stark. You know I hate that.”

“Sorry, Tony, sorry. You’re not gonna ask me to do this again, are you? It’s just, I’ve got homework, and – well, I guess if it wasn’t a school night, I could do it – you know I like to help out, but playing bait for the bad guys wasn’t really what I had in mind when you said you needed a hand – it’s fine, though, it’s cool, glad I could help. I guess I wouldn’t mind too much if you asked me again. Just-”

Ejecting himself from the suit, Tony dropped down onto one knee and began detaching the rope from around Peter’s waist. The laser probably wasn’t the best thing to use round there if he wanted kids in the future.

“Doubt that’ll be necessary. You can just talk at them for 20 minutes and they’ll give themselves up.” He pulled the remaining rope off and away from the teen.

“Hah, good one. Thanks for that.” Tony helped Peter up with a firm hand around his bicep. He couldn’t help but smile – what _does_ this kid do to him?! – and patted him on the back. Peter stumbled a little at the change of altitude before pulling the Spiderman mask off. His hair stuck in every direction. He stretched, grinned widely at Tony and took off out of the room. “I… gotta go. I’ll be right back!”

“We’ve gotta talk about going _before_ a mission!” Tony called after him. 

The car journey back to Queens began with Tony filling Peter in on what’d happened whilst he’d been tied up; Peter was, as always, a keen and excitable audience. His enthusiasm was infectious - Tony swore he even saw Happy chuckle at one point.

He couldn’t lie to himself, it was great having the kid around. And it wasn’t one of those deep, profound things that you couldn’t put your finger on why, it was just that Peter Parker was a _good_ kid. Friendly, caring, funny, willing to do anything and everything for anyone... it was everything that Tony probably wasn’t, but Peter didn’t seem to mind.

He was also an Olympic-level gymnast with the strength of a steel bridge and superstrong webs shooting from his hands. That didn’t hurt either.

It was raining heavily. The lights outside the car blurred with the droplets on the windows, and the wipers were working hard to keep Happy’s view clear, almost drowning out the light radio music that had been put on to fill the silence. For once, Peter was quiet - hunched over some kind of calculus equations that Tony could’ve solved in the blink of an eye, if the kid wasn’t doing so himself. “You know, Pete, I’m sure you could wing that homework if you wanted to. What’s the rush anyway? You don’t have calc tomorrow. I checked your timetable.”

Peter smiled. Of course Tony hacked the school system. It was easier than just calling him up and _asking_.

“Got a bajillion reports and projects to do after this,” Peter said quietly. He rubbed his eye and yawned, “Got Decathlon after school tomorrow. Got chores, got my… internship.” He smirked at Stark.

“Gross. Do you sleep?”

The kid flipped over to the next page. “Yeah. More than you do anyway.”

“Touché.”

Tony turned his attention to his phone for a minute – _Reminder: Parker needs sleep_ – before Happy sighed in frustration. “Looks like we’ve got some heavy traffic for a couple miles.”

He leaned round and looked out at the standstill cars and clicked his tongue. “Fabulous. Sorry, kiddo.” Tony shot an apologetic look at the teen to find him slumped against the window, dead asleep. His breath fogged the pane, his hand still wrapped around his pen. Stark noticed he looked a little pale.

“Happy,” Tony slipped the papers from under Peter’s hands and, grabbing the kid’s hoodie from his backpack, draped it over his lap, “Shut off the music.”

Peter shifted a little, then exhaled deeply. “Well, _you’re_ no fun.” Tony murmured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this can be it, or i could throw some more trash at you in terms of more than 1 chapter. You decide! I have 2 essays due in a week, so I'm pretty much free 
> 
> much love to u all x


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the sweet reviews! This is as requested, and quite a bit longer than the last chapter: I wrote it in a few hours till 1:30 AM, so im REALLY sorry if any of it's incoherent or plot-holey, or out of character, or......YOU GET IT  
> SORRY
> 
> (PS. im british and i googled what time you guys in the US start high school, and loads of websites said that it's not uncommon for you to start the school day at 7am..?? I am so sorry)

Tony picked up after the third ring. Peter almost jumped back in surprise.

“Hey, Mr—Tony.” Peter inwardly cringed. He needed to stop embarrassing himself in front of Mr Stark. Tony. He’d actually fallen asleep in his car last week. God. He kneaded his forehead to ease his headache.

_“Mr Tony here. What’s up, kid? You coming over later?”_

Tony had recently bypassed the current setup where Peter called Happy with his reports and questions, and instead told Peter to just call him directly. He didn’t always answer, but Peter didn’t always call, so. 

Now that Peter wasn’t just being a Friendly Neighbourhood Spiderman like he’d been told to (though, when had he ever?), radio silence from his mentor and voicemail messages to the chauffeur wouldn’t cut it anymore.

“Yeah, sure, I am! But...” Peter’s eyes wandered nervously before settling on Ned. Ned nodded and mouth-whispered “Go on!”, flapping his hands in encouragement exaggeratedly. 

_“A noun phrase usually follows a conjunction, Peter._ ”

Peter laughed a little. Tony smiled smugly at the sound of it. “Yeah, sorry. I got distracted by something.” 

The kid was definitely tired out – Tony could hear it in his voice.

He grimaced. Time to get soft again. Blech. “Obviously, you don’t have to come, if— if you need a break. This stuff can wait till next week, okay?” He flipped a screwdriver off the table, brought it to his eye and aimed it like a dart. He tossed it at his suit, throwing a fist in the air and spinning on his heel when the left hand came to life and caught it. 

“No! It’s fine, Tony, really. I was just gonna ask if Happy could pick me up from the apartment, at 5, maybe? I just kinda wanted to take a nap before I came.” 

“I mean… you could always nap here, but kid, if you need sleep then let’s just reschedule. You looked beat last week. When you used my car for a siesta. Which I found adorable, by the way.”

Peter groaned and dropped his head to the table. He’d hoped Tony wouldn’t bring it up. He opened his mouth to protest, but the man wasn’t done. Ned raised an eyebrow.

“What’s not adorable is that I don’t think you’re looking after yourself properly. And I don’t want to get in trouble with Aunt Hottie when you start foaming at the mouth because you’re not catching enough Zs.” He was joking, but Tony’s voice was softer. 

“Actually, the nap’s part of me taking initiative about not getting sleep! I want to be on top of my game so I’m tryna get nine hours a day. I Googled how much I need and everything, but it said fifteen year olds need eight to ten hours and ten’s pushing it and eight doesn’t sound like a lot, so…” _Just haven’t managed it yet._

Tony huffed a laugh. He had to give it to the kid. He was conscientious. “Alright. Well, here’s the deal: Happy picks you up after school and you take a nap here. Then when you’ve got your beauty sleep - and believe me, you need it - we hit the lab.” 

“Are you sure?” Peter’s stomach twisted a little with anxiety. Napping at the Avengers facility? He wanted to reject the kid image, not play up to it. 

But he hadn’t been feeling so hot recently, which really didn’t work well with his passion for being, like, Spiderman and all, or getting to hang around with Tony Stark. He really enjoyed spending time with Tony. And besides, it _was_ just a nap. 

“Yep.” He popped the ‘p’ on the end of the word. “Sure as sugar, kid. Go and do some homework or something. Catch you later.”

“’kay… bye, Tony.” Tony had already hung up.

The second the phone was away from his ear, Ned reanimated. “What’d he say? Did he say it was a good idea? I mean, you getting some sleep is always a good idea. Are you napping or are you not napping?” 

“I think he thought it was a good idea. I’m gonna nap at his.” Peter tried to be nonchalant. He liked Ned to think he was cool with Tony Stark. 

Ned always thought he was cool.

“Dude, that’s awesome! He must have the swankiest mattresses.”

Peter laughed and smiled at his best friend. Ned was never the jealous type, and always supportive. “You wanna hit the library before history? I brought chips.”

They stood to leave the canteen when Ned caught his arm. “Hey, Peter. I’m glad you’re looking out for yourself again. You haven’t been looking so good this past week especially. Really quiet, like, not yourself, or something. I was starting to worry.”

“You’re saying I’m not good-looking? I’m wounded!” Peter nudged his friend’s shoulder and then sighed. “Thanks for making me do that, dude.”

He pulled his backpack on and willed his headache to relax and the dizziness to stop.

_I think I really do need that sleep._

* * *

The moment Peter saw the “guest” room that Tony had sent him off to, he knew that he had been wrong. It hadn’t been a test when Tony had offered him a place in the Avengers: this room was for him. 

The TV, the games consoles, the computer, the pull out sofa, the lava lamp? The… _Star Wars_ cushions? The huge desk, presumably for homework and studying?

Yeah. Peter grinned despite the awkwardness. Tony had really gone all out to do all this. He knew that really it was probably some designer or something, or Pepper Potts, but for now he’d let himself indulge in the fact that Tony really wanted him around. And not just out of pity for the clingy wannabe kid!

Not wanting to waste too much of the man’s time all the same (and desperate to shut off from how not-so-good he was feeling for a while), he shrugged off his jacket and pulled his shoes off. 

For the past couple days - ever since he’d started this health-kick, as he liked to call it - he’d been certain that once he’d caught up on his sleep, he’d feel so much better. 

He’d had figured out that over the last 3 months, since Liz had left, he’d been averaging 21 hours sleep a week. That was one third of what he should’ve been getting, and those hours included the time he _should’ve_ been sleeping, but was lying awake, twitchy and full of adrenaline and worry and excitement and a little bit of fear. 

Ugh. All this thinking made his head hurt.

He set an alarm on his phone – an hour – and let himself sink into the clean-smelling linen. He was out like a light. 

* * *

He dreamt of having a stomach ache, out in the hot, sun-baked street, waiting for it to rain so that he could satisfy his awful thirst. 

He woke up groaning, because the stomach ache was reality. Curled on his side, he relinquished one of the arms wrapped around his stomach to bat his phone till the trilling stopped.

His mouth tasted like salt so he dragged himself off the bed and downed his water bottle in one go. Then he went into the bathroom, filled it again and knocked back half. He splashed his face too and ran his hands through his hair. 

There was some aftershave on the shelf, so he spritzed his neck and wrists like he’d seen May do and slapped his cheeks till they got a bit of colour to them. He felt a little better. 

“Hey, FRIDAY, where’s Mr Stark?” _Tony!_

“Mr Stark is currently showering in his private quarters.” 

Peter suddenly felt very intrusive, and sat down on the bed quickly. “Oh, okay. Never mind.” He could lie down a little while longer whilst he waited, he guessed. 

He came back to when he heard a knocking at his door. He sat up quickly, his head spinning. It was almost dark outside now. The outdoor lighting of the compound was beginning to glow through his window. 

“Come in!” He hoped he didn’t look nervous. Well, he more hoped he didn’t look as nauseous as he felt. _How d’you tell one of the Avengers you think you’re coming down with something?_

It was only Tony. “Hey there. Uh, FRIDAY told me you were looking for me. I thought you’d be asleep for longer than an hour.” 

Peter shrugged and tried a smile. “Was all I needed.” He would’ve suggested they hit the lab, if his stomach hadn’t decided that now would be a good time to rebel. He clamped his mouth shut.

Throwing up in front of Tony Stark was absolutely the last, last, last thing he wanted to do. 

“Uh-huh.” Tony looked suspicious and unconvinced. He swung his hands so they were clasped behind his back, and began to step forward. “Lights.” 

The room lit up, and Peter’s face was illuminated. He gulped helplessly and felt very much like a cornered animal. 

“Pete. Level with me here. What’s happening right now?”

The smell of his aftershave made his eyes water.

“I—‘m sorry…” was all he managed before he sprang up and into the bathroom.

He only threw up once. It was mostly water. Then he laid his forehead onto the seat and kept it there, too embarrassed to look up. Surprisingly, he kinda felt maybe a bit better.

He assumed Tony would be watching awkwardly from the doorway, embarrassed too, when he felt a firm hand on the small of his back. 

He spoke quietly. “FRIDAY, what’s his temp?”

“102.8 degrees, Sir.” 

Tony hummed under his breath. “Not so tough now, are we, Spiderman?” He said gently. 

Peter breathed a humourless laugh. They should be looking at Karen controls right now. “Really sorry, Mr Stark.” 

“ _Tony._ C’mon, kid. You done here?” Peter nodded and pushed himself up. Tony tried to ignore that the kid’s hands were trembling.

Peter didn’t really know why – he’d blame it on the fever later – but he turned big, guilty eyes on Stark. “You’re bein’ super nice to me.” 

Tony deposited him on the bed and stood back. “Yeah. I wonder why. The things you put me through, Underoos. Lie down.” 

Peter was too tired to do anything but curl back onto his side and watch Tony, wary of what the man was going to say to him. If he said anything at all. Hopefully, if he was going to get chewed out for not looking after himself, Tony would wait till he was feeling better. He didn’t think a lecture would help his headache right now.

It was to his immense surprise that the man headed back into the bathroom, let the faucet run for a few seconds, then returned with a cold washcloth. He carefully draped it over Peter’s forehead. He crouched next to the bed.

“You’ve been doing too much, kiddo.” He sighed. 

“You mad?” Peter mumbled. 

Tony frowned, then sighed again and grasped the back of Peter’s neck with a cool hand. “No.” 

That was when the teen completely let his defences down, and let how he was feeling just wash over him, feeling secure next to the Tony. He remembered back during the fight against Captain Rogers, when he woke up to Tony leaning over him, pushing his arms down and telling him he was done.

“Well, yeah, I am, but with myself. I forgot you can’t juggle a million things like me. You haven’t reached my level yet. Not cool enough. Nowhere _near_.” He made a cut-off gesture with his hand and smirked. Peter just let his eyes slip shut and nodded. 

“Yeah.”

“Yeah.”

“Tony?”

“Yeah?”

“Am I sick?”

“Think so.” 

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” Tony squeezed the back of his neck and withdrew it. He thought he saw Peter frown a little at that, so he relented and placed it on the boy’s knee. “Sleep. Okay? I’ll call your Aunt.”

“Y’said that last time.”

“Huh?” Tony patted Peter’s knee once, awkwardly, then stood.

“Said you’d call Aunt May.” Peter eyes opened and he cracked a tired smile when Tony’s face remained blank. “When we fought Captain America. Snitch.”

“Oh. Haha. Well, this time it’s not a threat, you see? ‘cause last time a giant man beat your ass, and I didn’t want to get sued. This time, I’m gonna get you some Tylenol, and then I’m gonna call Aunt Hottie and tell her that Spiderboy’s staying here tonight. And then I’m going to take the night off and watch some crappy TV.” 

“Okay. Tony?”

“Uh-huh?”

“It’s Spider _man_.” 

“Uh-huh. Well then _sleep, Spiderman._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if any of you lovely bunch want to dm me, DO IT i beg!! it would literally make my life 
> 
> love you all xxx


End file.
